Chaos Bound (25 page)

‘Were you seriously asleep? Bit early for you, isn’t it?’

Seth looked defensive. ‘I haven’t had a proper sleep in nearly two days, thank you very much.’ He folded his arms. ‘Now it looks like I won’t be getting any tonight either. ‘

‘At least I make your life interesting,’ I said wearily. ‘Could you send someone to check on Gideon and Orella? They were there at the celebrations as well.’

‘Of course.’

‘There’ll be blood in the streets for the murder of a Marrok,’ I said. ‘The City Watch is going to have to do something to stop it.’

Seth picked up the brandy bottle and pulled my empty cup towards him. ‘I'm going to send messages to the divisional Captains and arrange an emergency meeting. This is going to affect everyone in Harken.’

Fatigue washed over me. ‘I didn’t know where else to go.’

Seth tipped out a large slug of the dark, sweet liquor, and drank it. ‘You did the right thing. I'll arrange for men to guard the house. You’re both safe here.’

‘Thank you.’ Humble pie wasn’t an easy dish to eat, but I was tired enough that I had my fork at the ready. A silence stretched between us, comfortable and uncertain at the same time. I realised being in Seth’s company was something I missed; the calm that came from knowing he’d have my back, no matter what the circumstances. There was a darkness in me I wasn’t sure Roman would ever understand. Something in me that craved the roughness in the night, the wild drinking and bawdy gambling tables, edged with violence. But I knew Seth would always accept that part of me, because that life was part of him as well.

Seth looked wide-awake now, eyes alert. He looked as if he could take on anything and anyone.

I wondered where he’d gotten the name Seth Hallow. I'd heard his hellspawn name before. It was something like Sarqis… Sarquious… Or something…

‘Why were you cast out of The Pit?’ I asked abruptly.

Seth answered without hesitation, like he’d been waiting a long time for me to ask. ‘I was set up. Someone wanted my seat of power more than I did.’

I crossed my arms. ‘Did you really dream about me before we met? Did you really see what I was?’

‘Yes.’ At the memory, a smile danced around the corners of his mouth. ‘They were very pleasant dreams.’

‘Did you know what The Key of Aldebaran meant, and its connection to me?’

‘I knew of the book. I knew you could possibly make those spells work.’

‘Have you ever read the entire prophecy of the Dreadwitch and Howling King?’

Seth’s eyebrows raised. ‘Sort of. The language is hard to follow and it goes on for a bit. Full of symbolism, a bit obtuse. Everything a prophecy is supposed to be.’

‘Do you think I'm her? The Dreadwitch?’ I asked softly.

‘We’ve already talked about this, Lora.’ Seth sounded exasperated. ‘You could easily turn from it all if you wanted to.’

‘Do you know who this Howling King is? I mean, sounds like it would be someone hard to miss, what with the howling and all.’

Seth attempted a small smile. ‘What matters at this point is that you have a power you should learn to control, before it controls you. Don’t forget there’s someone out there who thinks he’s the Howling King and he might not be so shy about embracing his title.’

‘You’re reaching. You have no idea how chaos magic works.’

‘I know it’s dangerous, and powerful.’

‘Were you grooming me to be your pet nephilim? A dog on your leash?’

‘I never wanted to leash you,’ Seth said. ‘I never wanted you to be someone other than who you are.’

‘You also never told me the truth about your past.’

‘No.’ He sighed. ‘Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe it wasn’t. But I always had your best interests at heart.’

‘Liar.’

His voice lowered to a hush. ‘Lora, I've thieved and corrupted, I've killed both the righteous and the guilty, all to fulfil my own path to power. I love you, but why do you think I never asked you to marry me? You don’t think I know how you’d feel if we made that commitment to each other, and I hadn’t revealed everything to you?’

The revelation that he’d even thought about marriage was a sledgehammer to the guts. All rational thought fled my mind and I stared at Seth in shock.

‘You don’t think I was worried you’d reject me if you knew the truth?’ he said. My emotions felt tangled up, the feelings I had for Roman simmering close to the surface.

Seth ran a hand over his face. ‘You need some sleep. I'll have this place guarded, inside and out, within the hour.’ He straightened, stretching his back. ‘Then I'll have to meet with the other Captains and see if we can head off any retaliation attacks from the Marrok family or the Reapers. We need to defuse this situation, or it’ll be like the Applecross riots fifty years ago. I got caught up in those, and they weren’t pretty.’

‘Anon’s balls, Seth. How old are you?’

‘Old enough, Dimples. Old enough.’

I went upstairs and washed my face in Seth’s bathroom. Leaning in, I stared at my reflection. Stared at the black roots I couldn’t conceal, and at my haggard face. Seth appeared in the doorway, dressed in his City Watch uniform. He finished buttoning his stiff jacket and gave me a critical look. ‘Nicola looks like she’s out for the night. You should do the same; you look dead on your feet.’

I rested my hands on the edge of the basin, my head drooping. ‘I am.’

‘How’s the side?’

‘I'll live.’

Seth stepped forward, hands reaching for my shoulders. His thumbs pressed deep, knowing from past practice exactly where my tension points lay. I gave a soft groan, feeling myself unravel.

‘Haven’t heard that in a while.’ Seth’s hands dropped lower, his body shifting closer. My breath hitched as I reacted to him, my body relaxing, wanting. I craved his touch, to be held close after the tragedy I'd witnessed. My thoughts flew to Roman, and I replayed our fight, how his parting words had speared my heart. I turned to face Seth, and he saw it as in invitation, his head bowing to graze his lips along one earlobe. I placed a hand on his chest and pushed. Just a little. Seth stilled, amber eyes finding mine. I wasn’t sure what he saw, but it was enough for him to drop his hands and step back.

‘When you told me I had someone on my side in that trial, I thought you meant my lawyer,’ I said.

‘That moron?’ Seth rolled his eyes. ‘I half suspected the Grigori would try something shifty, like not allowing him in. They have a habit of doing that. So I approached Fowler and those were his terms. What else could I do? Besides, Gideon was the one who had the final say, I just presented the deal to him.’

‘You have my eternal thanks for that,’ I said dryly.

‘I didn’t see what other choices there were, Lora.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me about it?’

Seth gave an amused laugh. ‘Would you have gone for it?’

‘Of course not.’ I rolled my neck and heard it crack. I was angry, but I held my tongue. What pissed me off was being treated like a kid. My inner voice asked me if perhaps I was acting like one. I changed tact. ‘I read Casper’s history book.’

Seth took another step back. ‘And?’

‘Did you know the Grigori breed their nephilim from the Unclean?’

‘No.’ Seth’s face was completely blank. ‘Is that what the book claims?’

‘Sure does. Why did Casper think I'd be interested in knowing this?’

‘I don’t know.’

I tried to see Casper’s angle. ‘Did he think I'd run to the nephilim, and reveal to them the Grigori’s little secret? Maybe start a little civil unrest?’

‘I told you, I don’t know what he was thinking. Casper is a great mercenary and a good strategist in the field, but it’s not his style to play the long game with civilians.’

‘Is he planning some sort of move against the Grigori?’

‘Not to my knowledge.’ Seth’s reply sounded honest enough, but his eyes were guarded.

‘I think Capser did it, because he thinks something’s coming,’ I said slowly. ‘Or someone. Maybe the nephilim in the Outlands, the one who attacked us with the fleshlings?’

‘You mean Gorath?’ Seth shook his head. ‘I've met him. He’s dangerous and unpredictable, but he doesn’t have the numbers to take on the Grigori. Even he wouldn’t be that crazy.’

‘You sure?’ My upper lip curled. ‘I thought crazy was the domain of the nephilim.’

Seth cocked his head to one side. ‘Speaking of which, how is Regulator Roman?’

My sneer dropped. ‘How should I know?’

‘You think I don’t know you covered for him after he killed that griorwolf?’

I turned back to the mirror and stared at Seth’s reflection. ‘What does that matter now?’

He blew out a frustrated breath. ‘How long do you think your relationship with Roman is going to survive?’ He almost spat the word ‘relationship’. ‘He cares for you so much that he’d let you take the blame for his crime?’

‘He’s stronger than that.’

Seth stepped close and spun me around to face him. ‘Tell me you haven’t slept with him.’

‘That’s none of your business.’ My face flushed, giving the truth away. My hands tucked into my armpits.

Seth’s nostrils flared, and his fists curled. ‘Anon’s balls. I'd not want to come between two star-crossed lovers. After all, we’ve got a perfect example tonight of how well that story turns out.’

To my horror, tears filled my eyes. ‘Stop it.’

‘Stop what?’ he snapped. ‘I see you walking into danger, and you want me to stand by and watch?’

I had nothing to say in the face of his anger, all reasoning eluding me. I blinked back tears, walling up the pain Roman had caused. Swiping away a tear that escaped down my cheek, I saw a calm settle over Seth’s face, as if he’d reached some sort of conclusion.

He turned to go, then paused. ‘I get it, Lora. You’re upset because Roman’s in trouble. You think you love him, and you think the world’s ending because he’s in danger. Well, the world only ends when you’re dead. Until then, you have more punishment in store like everyone else. Stand it, like the fighter you are, and deal some back.’

‘I don’t have time for this.’

I faced the hut in my dream, frustrated. Sariel stood under a nearby tree, wearing a charcoal-grey suit, pink handkerchief tucked in the front breast pocket, and his dark wings folded behind him.

‘How much longer are we going to do this?’ I motioned towards the hut. ‘It’s pointless. If you haven’t managed to bond with me by now, what makes you think I'm going to start trusting you at this point? Maybe I had a good reason to see you as a scary freak as a child.’

‘You must accept me as your father, Lora.’ Sariel strode towards me, the bottom of his wings brushing the grass. ‘You must accept the mantle you were destined to take.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Oh please. How many more times do I have to rain on your parade?’

‘Do you even know what the prophecy says?’

‘Fuck the prophecy.’

‘The battle between the Howling King and the Dreadwitch will happen.’

‘Says who? You?’

‘If it came to that.’ A small, secretive smile played on his lips. ‘What would you do, Lora, if your precious Harken City was threatened? Your loved ones. Her citizens. All those innocent children.’ Sariel lowered his head and shadows fell across his eyes. ‘Would you turn away from a power that could save them?’

‘Sorry.’ I held a hand up. ‘Are we talking about the same thing? The power that could destroy my soul? Send me insane? That’s the power we’re talking about, right?’

‘That’s not a certainty, Lora. Everything worthwhile is risky. Would you take that chance?’ he persisted. ‘Could you?’

‘Let’s just say I'd be looking pretty hard for another way.’

‘What if there was no other way?’

‘Since you’re so big on the hypothetical, how about this one?’ I asked. ‘Who’s to say the Howling King isn’t just some guy who appears because the Dreadwitch has finally shown up?’ I asked. ‘Like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Every man and his dog craves fame and fortune, and a puppet king can be made easily enough. You seem to forget there are others who would help protect the city.’

‘Who?’ Sariel asked. ‘The Grigori and their celestial bastards?’

I shrugged. ‘Why not? They’ve sworn to protect the innocent. Apparently I'm joining their ranks. I'd fight with them if some great evil rose up.’

Sariel frowned. ‘Do not trust the Grigori.’

‘You’re preaching to the converted, chuckles, but I seem to have little choice in the matter.’

The next morning, the banging of metal pots in the kitchen woke me. I sat up stiffly, my neck cricked out of shape from Seth’s lumpy spare bed. I still had an assortment of spare clothes I’d tossed in one corner of the room and, after taking a quick inventory, threw on a sensible Outland sports bra, black jeans, a loose shirt and light coat. I'd lost my sword’s sheath in the Quarter, so I just strapped my leg in the brace and put on my work-belt. I didn’t have my Tanker boots; so I'd have to make do with a spare pair of boots I'd packed.

Downstairs, two City Watch constables sat in the living room, both reading a street press and looking right at home. We all nodded at each other and I peeked outside through the front bay window, seeing two more constables loitering across the road. Satisfied we were safe for now, I walked into the kitchen to find Nicola standing over a sizzling pan. Two plates were set on the table with a steaming pot of coffee in the middle. Her eyes were puffy and red, her hair a frazzled mess.

‘Thought you’d like some breakfast.’ Her voice was a tired rasp. ‘The guards said they’d already eaten.’

I sat down at the table, not sure of what to say, what subject was safe. Nicola brought the pan over, dishing out burnt pieces of bacon and overcooked eggs. I waited until she had sat down before starting on the scrappy breakfast. I forked up some egg, trying to look enthusiastic, while Nicola picked listlessly at her plate. I tried to swallow, but the food got stuck. When I attempted to wash it down, I winced at the burnt coffee.

‘Sorry,’ Nicola muttered. ‘My mind kept wandering.’

I coughed a few times, choking on a burnt piece of bacon. ‘I have things I want to do. I'll send word to Gideon, so he can tell Crowhurst where you are. Will you be all right to stay here until we figure things out?’